


Captive

by cosmopoeicpower



Series: Yugioh Fantasy AU [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Child Abuse, Fantasy AU, Gen, I dont know how to tag this umm, Wing Plucking?, they have a really really shitty backstory but it has to be posted so yall know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 11:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14260398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmopoeicpower/pseuds/cosmopoeicpower
Summary: What do you get when you have a pair of Phoenix siblings, a recently turned gorgon, and a lot of angst? A backstory that's what.





	Captive

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: While it's not too bad, there is some child abuse because Kek's father is a horrible horrible man. At least he gets what he deserves in the end.
> 
> This work is from the Yugioh Fantasy AU! If you would like to learn more, please head over to my tumblr and check out cosmopoeicpower.tumblr.com/tagged/fantasy-au for the full tag.

_Pluck._

_Pluck._

_Pluck._

One by one each of his feathers were ripped out.

_Pluck._

_Pluck._

_Pluck._

It hurt like he figured fire would hurt mortals. He didn’t know. He was never sure what fire was supposed to feel like to someone who wasn’t made from it.

_Pluck._

_Pluck._

_Pluck._

But gods dammit the stinging feeling of tweezers yanking his feathers out had to be pretty fucking close.

Malik sat where he always sat, on the stool, in that small cage; his massive wings pooling onto the ground outside the steel bars. He had long since given up on fighting the inevitable. He used to thrash, burn, kill a guard or two. He even took out his captor, Naji’s eye. But Naji always came back with new guards. He finally had Isis moved to a different room as a final attempt to break him. And much to Malik’s disgust, it worked. Without his sister’s voice there to comfort him after having his wings mutilated, he just stopped fighting.

Naji plucked the final feather for the day from Malik’s right wing. He had begun at the feathers closest to his back and ended with his flight feathers. Ripping out the largest feather on his wing with a sickening snap, Naji stood up.

“This pair you’re grown this month is simply gorgeous, you know,” Naji said, twirling the golden flight feather between his fingers. “We’re gonna make a lot of money with these.”

Malik said nothing, his tarnished twenty-three foot wingspan lazily drooping onto the ground.

“There’s a new group of people coming to see your sister today,” Naji continued. He walked around the perimeter of the cage slowly. Malik didn’t look up from his lap.

“I’m thinking with the amount of rich folks coming to see her today, I may just make a pretty buck selling her to one of them.”

Malik looked up at that. 

“Oh, so the birdie does have ears! Gods, I thought we might have accidentally plucked those off too!” Naji laughed.

“You’re going to die,” Malik muttered.

Naji stopped laughing at that. He took out the knife he kept strapped to his side, leaned against the bars of the cage, and pointed the blade at Malik. “What did you say little bird?”

Malik spoke again, “Whether it’s the gods, your men, my hands, or your own son: somehow, very soon, you’re going to die. And when you do, I’m going to make sure you feel every bit of pain that you have dished out for years.”

Naji smiled, wide and scary. “I’m never going to die as long as I have the immortality ingredient growing in my home. Not a soul can touch me, and you have yourself to thank for that. If the gods want me dead, they’ll kill me themselves.”

Naji stowed his knife back at his side and headed to the door, gesturing for his men to follow him.

* * *

 

That night, Malik awoke to the sound of the door creaking open. He opened his eyes, and saw Kek, the son of Naji, holding a small basket. Kek was only 12, but he acted like a grown man in the way he walked and spoke with his father’s workers.

“Hey kid,” Malik whispered, smiling. “What have you got tonight?”

Kek lifted the lid off of the basket, revealing a small collection of figs, no doubt collected by hiding them in his pockets during meals. Kek was a frail child, he stood at about only 4’8” at the time. He had stolen the keys from the wall that night, and snuck into Malik’s cage. Kek helped Malik into a sitting position, and set the basket between them.

“It’s not much this time. I didn’t have as much in Isis’s, so there’s less in your’s,” Kek said, rubbing his arm. Malik felt bad for Kek. At least Malik had his sister to rely on when things were horrible. Kek had nobody. His own father beat him for being nice to the phoenixes. Malik had seen Kek’s scars one night while the boy was reaching up to grab the key.

“You know I’ll never complain about my sister getting food instead of me,” Malik said, reaching into the basket and pulling out a fig. Together, they went through the entire basket.

“When I get older, I’m gonna get you and Isis out of here,” Kek said, his eyes looking far off.

“I know you will,” Malik said, pushing the empty basket aside and pulling the boy to his side.

“I know you will.”

Kek was 18 years old now. He was still a fairly frail boy, but he had definitely had a growth spurt. He was preparing the baskets of food when Naji entered the room.

“Hey, kid, listen; I was thinking about selling that female phoenix to-” he stopped, noticing the baskets. “Kek, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he asked. Naji pushed his son to the side and reached into the basket, pulling out a small loaf of bread. “Have you been sneaking around behind your old man’s back, son?”

“Dad, I-”

“Kid, let’s have a little chat, father to son.”

From the other room, Malik couldn’t make out direct sentences or words, only the sounds of the whip, and Kek screaming.

* * *

 

That night, Kek sat by his bed on his knees. His eyes were puffy, his back screaming. He had so many scars on his back he could hardly feel it when people touched him there. He had tried to pull himself onto the sheets a couple of times already, but with the current open wounds, he couldn’t manage the strength.

He began to pray to the gods.

“I don’t know if you’re even listening, or if you even would listen to someone like me. But if you are there… I can’t help them get free without your help. I’m not strong enough.”

He sat there for a moment, feeling as though it was futile. Then, suddenly a massive beam of light poured down from the ceiling, enveloping Kek completely. He heard a voice talking to him.

“ _We’ve heard your pleas, little one. We’re going to help you now. We’re going to get rid of this man._ ”

Then black.

When Kek awoke, he felt his back. All of his wounds had scarred over. Looking down, he saw what the gods had done to make him “strong enough.” He had become significantly taller, stronger, and a massive snake tail pooled out from his waist where his legs would have been. He slithered over to a mirror, and saw dozens of snakes coiling and waving atop his head.

Kek grinned, and felt the his newfound power coursing through his veins. He could free Malik and Isis. He was going to get away.

* * *

 

Malik found himself on his stool again, his newly grown wings being prepared for plucking. Naji was walking over to grab the special, fireproof pliers he used. As he was pulling them off the shelf, they heard Kek’s voice shout “Stop hurting him!”

Naji growled. He tossed the pliers onto the ground, and went to grab his whip. “Kid, I swear to the gods! I’m not gonna have you fucking interrupt me anymore!”

Before turning towards the door, Naji turned to Malik. He saw the phoenix slack-jawed in awe. Naji turned to the door, and saw what used to be his son.

“What the f-”

“Hey dad,” Kek said, rows of razor sharp teeth shined with his grin. Kek leisurely made his way towards Naji, and with a bone crushing grip, grabbed his arm with one hand, lifting him off the ground, and removed the whip with the other. Kek tossed it over his shoulder, and then proceeded to snap his arm in half.

Naji let out a scream, and Kek dropped him to the ground. While Naji cradled his arm, Kek took the keys from the wall and unlocked the cage.

“We’re getting out of here now,” Kek said softly, and with careful hands he lifted Malik into his arms.

“What happened to you,” Malik rasped out. He wasn’t complaining though, as he wrapped his arms around Kek’s neck and let his wings disappear back into his scars.

“The gods heard me, for once in their immortal lives,” Kek said. He looked over, and saw Naji ordering his men to attack. Kek felt a strange force surge through him, and suddenly every single member of Naji’s workforce became stone statues. Naji stared in fear at the monster that claimed his son’s name. Kek slithered to the door, set Malik carefully down onto his feet, and whispered, “Go get your sister.”

As Malik made his way out of the room he had been caged in for at least 18 years, he could only hear the sounds of the whip and Naji’s screaming.

* * *

 

It took Malik a bit to locate Isis’s cage amongst the other attractions at Naji’s disgusting travelling show. She sat in her full phoenix form, perched on a branch inside the cage. Her feathers looked pale, although Malik was sure a mere mortal wouldn’t know the difference between a healthy phoenix and a sick one. She had been trapped inside the same cage for years. A small tag tied around the corner bar read “Sold.” Malik sneered at it.

He waved up at her, calling out to her. “Isis! Isis it’s me!”

Upon seeing her brother, Isis immediately reverted form. She was stunned.

“Malik, how did you get out?” she whispered reaching out to him through the bars. He held her hands.

“Kek’s getting us all out. He’s freeing everyone.”

“Kek? How did he-” Isis was cut off by a stone statue being thrown against a wall, shattering to pieces.

Kek came out of the back room, his snakes raised up high around him. He locked his swirling purple eyes with each guard, and one by one they turned to stone. When there was only one guard left, his eyes shifted from purple to gold, and the guard suddenly turned heel and went to unlock the door to Isis’s cage. Kek followed after the guard, and after he had done his job, blood suddenly dribbled from his ears, and after a moment, he dropped to the floor dead.

Malik and Kek helped Isis out of her cage, and onto the straw floor of the room. Together, the three of them made their way out of the building.

“What happened to you?” Isis asked, gripping his scaled shoulder for support.

“I wanted to protect you,” Kek answered.

Malik and Isis hadn’t seen the sun in almost two decades, and feeling the warmth on their skin reminded them that they were truly free.

**Author's Note:**

> Kek you're doing amazing sweetie. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please leave a kudos or comment if you would like me to post more of the drabbles I've done on discord here!


End file.
